Officials visit Ottawa’s Confederation Line tunnel to view progress

On August 11, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Royal Galipeau, member of Parliament (Ottawa–Orléans) and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson toured the Confederation Line light-rail transit tunnel to see progress that has been made since mining began in October 2013.

In the past 10 months, the contractor, Rideau Transit Group, has excavated more than 50 percent of the tunnel volume (the equivalent of more than 23 Olympic-sized pools). The majority of the remainder of the tunneling operation will focus on the excavation of three station caverns.

The tunnel boring machines, Jawbreaker and Chewrocka, are busy mining out Lyon and Parliament stations, respectively and Crocodile Rouge should reach Rideau station to begin that mining operation by the end of the year. This project is on track and on budget and tunnel excavation is expected to be completed in the summer of 2016.

"This public transit link will transform how we will move around Ottawa," said Premier Wynne. "I am committed to promoting public transit and creating jobs across Ontario. This incredible project is proof of what we as a province can achieve."The Confederation Line is a CA$2.1-billion (US$1.9-billion) project that is jointly funded by the Canadian government, the province of Ontario and the city of Ottawa.